Origins

It's too perfect, right? A Jim Croft original, made from the same branch. The stand has a hole inside that runs through the entire piece, which also looks like the egg perched on top. It's all sitting on top of the work of an unknown craftsman, a Korean man or woman who made the hanji bal of bamboo that Jana Pullman pulled out of her magic hat for me. Lynn Amlie brough it back from Korea years ago.

Aside from the richness of teaching, which is riches enough, I felt like I had this amazing 10 days of lineage tracing and meeting elders in the most wonderful way. The Korean drying brush and bark scraping knife are also gifts from Jana and I can't wait to test them in Cleveland. The tear drop shapes are lovely tiny bone folders that I got from Nancy at Colophon Book Arts Supply. Jim also gave me the wood buttons sewed to the red card. Donna gave me the Oregon coast rock enclosed in a weaving, and then waiting for me at home were the wondrous dyes on paper and silk by Velma. Through all of the traveling, SO MANY STORIES. Mostly I laughed and could have caught an army of flies with my wide open mouth, amazed by the tales from China and Korea and Minnesota and Oregon and Idaho and Iowa and so many more places that are barely big enough to contain these stories.

Today, I try to untangle myself, get clothes from dirty to clean. Tomorrow, back to the Met to give a hanji talk to paper conservators, and then catch up with a whole gaggle of friends before I reset my brain and suitcases for the heaviest load of teaching to come.